Lil Momz
by Risiwys
Summary: Anthology of scenes from the adventures of Mama Kenz and Lil Tamsin (as a small child) forming a larger story. Fluff for anyone wrecked by season five. Picks up at the end of season four.
1. Grocery Shopping

A/N pairing: Since no one else has, I hereby dub the ship Mama Kenz/Lil T…*drumroll*… Momzin (as opposed to romantic ship Thievyrie or BrOTP Kamsin).

A/N setting: Assume unless there is a direct contradiction that this fic follows the story of the show through all of season four, though there is no Rainer and the final scene, as you will see, plays out differently. The chapters will each be a scene from the same timeline, but not in chronological order. Over time as more chapters are added the overall sequence of events will become clearer, but until then just go with it ;)

* * *

"Tam-Tam, honey, please sit down before you fall. I promise we are almost done, okay?"

Kenzi was near frantic as she rushed down the aisles pushing an oversized cart in front of her.

"No, no, hands in the cart. I can't hold you right now, you just gotta chill for me, kid. And sit down."

Despite her pleading, tiny hands covered in the stickiness that seems to perpetually ooze from the palms of those in their younger years continued to reach through the bars of the cart. Kenzi was quickly reaching her limit of how much she could take in one day, and the tousled toddler standing in her metal shopping trap was not far behind. With a pout and few frustrated whimpers the little mess of a child fell back hard into a sitting position, tears welling rapidly in big eyes and a piercing screech threatening to be released at any moment.

"No, no, no, just hang in there. We just gotta get you some food and, and, and something to wear, okay? Brand-new, super-pretty, any color you want, or whatevs. You don't wanna keep wearing that gross old t-shirt, do you? Especially not – ew, ew, ew, ew – now," Kenzi finished as she used the bottom of the shirt to wipe away the snot dripping from the nose of the uncooperative child.

As Kenzi withdrew her arm again, the little girl made grabby hands in her direction. She meant business with her lobbying to be picked up, and Kenzi recognized the familiar unyielding expression starting to cover her face. Not wanting this conflict to escalate to the full-blown tantrum it was headed for, Kenzi made a quick decision to sacrifice any remaining practicality in this situation and scoop up the girl. Balancing her on one hip, she struggled to walk and steer the cart with her free-hand, and it swerved dangerously back and forth down the aisle as she sped forward.

"Okay, okay, where do they hide the good stuff in this ridiculously oversized warehouse they call a store?" Kenzi cursed under her breath. "What do these little leprechauns even eat?"

"Tammy, do you eat food?" She was met with nothing but unnervingly focused green eyes. "Right, stupid question, I guess I deserved that. You must eat food; I mean big-you certainly had quite the appetite… Oh look, applesauce. You like applesauce?"

The decision whether or not to grab a jar was made for her, as her poorly controlled cart barreled into the shelves, and a few jars fell loudly into the bottom. Kenzi turned dramatically, squealing and squeezing her eyes shut, and the bundle she disturbed as she twisted squirmed violently. Prepared for the worst when she un-squinted her eyes one at a time to survey the certain mess, she was met with the first thing to go right on this hellish day.

"Oh thank all the gods in this fucking – um, I mean, um – fucking shithole of a – shit, I mean, um – craphole – oh my god, not better… Just, nevermind. Crisis frickin' averted; one point to the Russian ninja."

Taking full-advantage of her momentary good fortune, she dunked her kicking ball of trouble back into the cart.

"Look Lil T, bananas!" She yelled as a distraction as she took off running with the cart again.

By the time they had braved the labyrinth to the heart of the kid's clothing department, Tamsin had settled to focus all her energy on her very first battle: she would show her new banana nemesis no mercy. Kenzi took this chance to pull a wad of cash out of her bra and change from her pocket.

"5, 15, 25, 6, 7, 8, 9, 30, 31 dollars and… 25, 35, 39 cents," she counted quietly to herself, crouching on the floor. "Shit, you'd have thought there would be more long-lost take-out money in that couch considering how often we _forget_ to pay."

She glanced up to the various food items now surrounding Tamsin, taking a mental stock. Applesauce, bananas, milk, bread, peanut butter, jam, tissues and veggie sticks – at least six dollars' worth of stuff if she'd done the math right. These clothes had better be cheap or she was going to have a problem.

"Okay, okay, underwear, like she needs underwear. I hope you like the days of the week," Kenzi mumbled as she grabbed a pack of unfortunately colored kiddie underwear off a nearby hook. Turning to toss them into the cart, she did a double-take and snagged a pack of little socks too, before dumping them unceremoniously behind Tamsin in the cart.

"And I guess you'll need like shirts and stuff too, huh?" She said to the girl, who was definitely not listening to her thrilling shopping narration.

Walking over to the shirt display she reached for a little pink t-shirt, but when she pulled it off the rack she almost dropped it in horror. On the front was some sort of cartoon forest animal made of glitter with big bedazzled eyes framed by little hearts and a speech-bubble reading 'You're my deer'. She gasped, putting one hand to her heart, and slowly hung the shirt back as best she could while touching it with only the tips of her thumb and index finger.

"Redneck shopping," she gritted out in disgust, backing away with feigned nonchalance and a hair-flip, glancing around to see if anyone saw her touch **that**. "Is this my life now? 'Cuz I will die before I wear some **blouse** from Wal-Mart."

The horror she felt at this epiphany was short-lived, as a deeper anxiety took over when she looked up and was overwhelmed by the shirt options spread out in front of her in every size, cut and color imaginable. Tears suddenly formed in her eyes.

"Oh my god, what is this Gatsby bullshit. They are just shirts. Get your shit together woman!" Kenzi scolded herself, but this attempt at levity did nothing against the emotions threatening to bubble over. They had been growing and rising all day, and these shirts were apparently going to be the last straw. She clamped her hand tight over her mouth as the first sob escaped without further warning.

She couldn't hold the tears back any longer, and sob after sob rolled through her body, her shoulders shaking. She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there with her head down and her arm across her stomach to hold herself together, when she felt a soft touch on her shoulder. She jumped to face the person accosting her, now on high alert.

She came face to face with a small empathetic smile, and warm grey eyes looked back into Kenzi's clear blue, now bluer-looking than ever from the red rimming them. A woman, maybe in her late sixties, stood before her, her hand still gently resting on Kenzi's arm.

"How're you doing darling? Having one of those days?" The woman crooned sympathetically.

Kenzi was not one to cry in front of others, and definitely not one to talk to random old people who made small talk with strangers in the mall, but something in the woman's gaze was friendly and comforting to her, and urged her to open up about her problems. She could certainly use a little support right about now.

"I don't know which to choose, I don't know what I'm doing! How am I supposed to do this when I can't even pick a damn shirt?" Kenzi managed to choke out between sobs through the fingers still over her mouth.

Somehow the woman seemed to understand her garbled words, her eyes darting between the hysterical young woman standing among the shirts and the small dirty child in the pathetically-stocked shopping cart. The woman continued to try to soothe the poor crying girl, coaxing her in a sugar-sweet voice.

"Why don't you let me give you a hand, okay honey? But how about first you go grab your little one, um, _she_ looks like she could use a hug."

Kenzi nodded and obediently walked over to the toddler still contentedly sat trying to open her banana and snatched her up with a jarring jolt. She clutched Tammy tightly against her chest, wrapping both arms around her and working the fingers of one hand into blonde curls, pressing her little face into the crook of her neck. Tamsin mewled at being crushed but otherwise didn't fuss; maybe she sensed this wasn't the time. Kenzi loosened her death-grip slightly and took a steadying breath, inhaling the scent of baby hair. She let out a shaky breath and nodded to the woman that she was ready to continue.

"Okay, what do you need to get? Shirts?" The woman questioned, noticing the child was apparently wearing nothing but an adult t-shirt.

"Everything. Just everything. But I don't have much money," Kenzi murmured sadly with a final sniffle, flapping the small wad of cash she was still carrying once.

"Okay, that's okay. I see you've already got some socks and panties. Good start sweetie."

Kenzi cringed at the word _panties_, but was grateful for the woman's attempt at encouragement. She followed numbly behind the woman as she grabbed a 3-pack of pastel shirts, pointing to the 'Ages 2-3' label as she laid them in the cart she was now pushing. "So she has room to grow a bit," she commented, as she led them into the section with pants and dresses. She somehow selected a pair of the tiniest jeans Kenzi had ever seen and a little purple dress 'to wear over the shirts'.

"Um, shoes?" The woman queried, and when Kenzi shook her head dejectedly made off towards the shoe department, stopping only to grab a little red coat along the way.

Having finally managed to wrestle Tamsin into a pair of light-up sneakers, she smiled, accomplished.

"There that ought to do it," she clapped, as Tamsin picked up one foot at a time to examine the flashing lights with brows knit and a look of great suspicion. The woman started again, "So, was there a fire or some sort of –"

"Okay, um, thanks for everything. Bye!" Kenzi spit out as she rolled the cart away quickly. Situation back under control, she was feeling less tearful and new-found embarrassment at her outburst made her cheeks burn as she escaped the kind woman and her now-awkward chit-chat.

It wasn't until she had heard the little pleading cry "Mama!" several times that she realized in her rush to flee the shoe aisle she had left behind something – or rather someone – important. She slammed her heels into the linoleum and screeched to a halt, pivoting to be met with a heart-wrenching sight. The toddler was doing her best to pursue her, arms reaching out in front of her and tears streaking chubby red cheeks, her flashing feet uncoordinated as she slowly bumbled toward Kenzi, lifting them up more than forward. 'She always did run like a derp,' Kenzi thought to herself, before mentally scolding herself for making jokes when she was the cause of the little girl's desperate tears. She closed the distance between them and gathered her in her arms again.

"Oh, Tammerz, don't cry, I was just, um, giving you the chance to test out your amazeballs new shoes," she lied in an attempt to lessen the guilt she felt at seeing Tamsin's frightened expression. "I would never leave you behind. You're my girl T!"

But Tamsin had clearly reached the same limit Kenzi herself had breached not half an hour earlier in the clothing department, and continued to wail in spite of Kenzi's cooing and attention.

"Hokay, to checkout it is!" Kenzi pronounced, as she marched child and cart toward the exit with renewed determination to end this nightmare before she went fully insane from the shrill shrieking in her ear.

At the counter, Kenzi set a still-sobbing Tamsin back in the cart to load its other contents onto the conveyor belt. Her cries softened as she spotted the previously abandoned banana and clutched it in her hands, but grew in volume again as she smashed the offending fruit against the side of the cart when it still refused to peel.

"I know you're hungry Tam-Tam, just a few more minutes and you can have applesauce in the car, I promise. Please, please, please, just stop," Kenzi begged as she wrestled the banana away from the child to pay, sparking more outrage. She felt the emotions from before building again as the surrounding shoppers and cashier turned to stare at the scene unfolding. She was so distracted that she forgot to watch the total on the register until the man announced in a disdainful tone, "$36.28."

"Shit – I mean crap. Um, I only have $31," Kenzi leaned in to say quietly to the man.

"$36.28," the man repeated, emphasizing the six in way that made clear he would not budge on this. "Miss, you're gonna have to pay this amount now or put something back," he continued loudly.

"But I need all of this stuff!" Kenzi exclaimed, face flushing at the looks she was receiving. She didn't know what to do and Tamsin's continued chorus of "Mama!" was keeping her from thinking. She lifted the girl again and bounced her up and down trying to get her to shut up for just a second so she could figure this out. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Shhh."

"Okay, um, how much was the milk? No, wait, um, how much were the shoes? You don't need shoes, do you T, I can just carry you or something…" She reasoned as she tried to pull the shoes off of kicking feet. Tamsin was putting up a good fight and Kenzi was forced to prop her against the counter as she tried to work them off, continuing in an increasingly hysterical voice, "C'mon T, work with me here. We just need to give these shoes back to the _nice_ man, and then we can leave and you can have some applesauce and stop screaming in my ear and –"

"Here. Just, here." A five dollar bill was shoved in her face by a shopper from the growing line behind her.

"Wha-what?"

"Just take it, okay? Get your kid home."

_My_ kid. My _kid_. Tears welled in her eyes as she took the money and handed it to the cashier, with a soft 'thank you' to the shopper. Random strangers were being so generous to her today, more so than her own _supposed_ family, she thought bitterly as she grabbed _her kid_ and her bag and hurried out of the store.


	2. Chateau Lewis

"Well, here we are, home sweet home. Come on in."

Lauren propped her door open with an extended arm, pressing herself to one side of the doorway to let her visitor pass. Two little hands gripped the doorframe as a head poked cautiously out past the wall to peer into the darkened room inside, before hesitantly stepping in.

"Welcome to Chateau Lewis," she finished with a flourished sweep of her arm and a small bow.

"Okay."

Lauren cringed as she hit the light switch and saw eight orange smudges on her formerly pristinely white door frame, and had to stop herself from shouting out toward the girl as she made a beeline for her white sofa. She watched with barely contained horror as orange hands planted themselves on the seat and the toes of sneakers dug into the side of the upholstery as the child clambered into her custom couch. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out through parted lips, the first of many controlled breaths this night.

She stood stiffly in the middle of the room trying not to stare at the couch destroyer, awkwardly patting her hands together as she shifted her gaze around the room, not quite sure what to do next.

"Lauren?"

"Uh, yeah – yes?"

"Where you live, do you eat snacks?"

"Yeah, yes – sure. Would you like a snack?"

Tamsin only nodded and flopped back on the couch to await the food, kicking her heels against the frame of the couch. Lauren tried to tune out the thudding from her furniture as she pulled out some snack food from the fridge and laid it out on a platter to present to her guest. On her way to bring the food to the living room she had brilliant thought, and stopped to get something out of her purse.

"Let me just clean your hands before you eat," she said as she perched herself next to Tamsin on the couch, using a wipe to strip little sticky fingers of their orange coating. _Artificial cheese, of course; Kenzi did raise her after all._

"Okay, dig in." She spread a napkin across Tamsin and the surrounding couch before prepping a smaller plate with food from the platter and laying it on Tamsin's lap. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her handiwork, her sofa protected from further assault.

"What is _this_?" Tamsin challenged, poking the snack accusingly.

"_This_ would be courgette strips roasted in French balsamic vinegar garnished with fresh basil and a white bean and avocado dip with a touch of cilantro," Lauren rattled off, indicating to the various elements of her creation as she said the names.

"Ew," Tamsin commented bluntly, her brow scrunched and her nose wrinkled as she lifted a zucchini stick between two fingers and swung it back and forth. "Why is it green?"

Lauren sighed. _I should have guessed snacks that don't come vacuum-packed would not be on the menu at Casa de Kenzi. _

Lauren looked on as the courgette wobbled, then slipped through clumsy fingers and fell onto the carpet. Tamsin giggled at the splat. Lauren smiled a tight smile that in no way reached her eyes as she bent down to retrieve the food off the floor. _Keep it together Lewis. She is just a child. A smug, aggravating, little child._

Having recomposed herself while her face consulted the floor, Lauren sat back up and was met with a huge yawn escaping her tiniest houseguest as little hands rubbed at big eyes. _That is oddly endearing, _Lauren mused.

"Big day today, huh?" She remarked as she plucked the discarded food away from Tamsin. "Why don't we get you ready for bed?" Tamsin nodded her agreement as she slid heavily off the couch to follow Lauren up the stairs.

Watching each of Tamsin's fingers drag over every bar in her railing then along her hall wall, Lauren again commended herself on her earlier wet-wipe fingervention. She led Tamsin into her guest room.

"This is your room for tonight."

"Okay." It was quiet for a moment as they both observed the room.

"Lauren?"

"Yeah – uh, yes?"

"Where you live, do you have pjs?"

_Well, someone is really cranking up the charm._ "I don't have any of your pyjamas here, honey, but you can borrow one of my big old soft shirts to sleep in, okay?" Tamsin only nodded her consent.

As they walked to retrieve a shirt from Lauren's bedroom, she realized she didn't have any spare toiletries. "You can borrow a shirt, but, um, tonight you don't have to brush your teeth," she explained to her temporary companion.

"Really?" Tamsin looked up at her, wide eyes colored with awed disbelief.

"Uh, yeah – yes."

"Wow. Where I live in _my_ house, Momz always says I brush my teeth. Two times!" She gestured emphatically with both arms, the exasperation obvious as she looked up at Lauren, clearly believing she had found a sympathizer.

"Well, it is important to brush twice daily to keep teeth and gums fresh and ward off dangerous bacteria which may otherwise cause –" But as Lauren turned back around, shirt in hand, she realized Tamsin had wandered off and was busying herself with opening all of the cabinets within her reach.

"Here's the shirt," she said, handing off the shirt. "You can just head back to your room to – oh, um, or you can just do that…" Lauren let the sentence trail off as she averted her gaze from Tamsin, who had begun to strip in front of her. She wasn't sure where to look, and eventually settled on a spot in the corner by the ceiling. She stood there stiff with awkwardness until a muffled voice drew her attention.

"Lauren? Can you helped me?" Lauren looked down to find Tamsin struggling to get out of her sweater, one elbow stuck at a strange angle over her head.

"Oh, right." _Just when I thought this situation could not get any more awkward._

Lauren knelt down and gently worked the trapped arm out of the sweater and pulled it off over blonde curls, while still trying not to look at a mostly nude Tamsin. She helped her pull the borrowed shirt over head while she was there, eager to end this phase of the evening. _It's so strange seeing her helpless like this. I don't think I will ever get used to it. _

Once she was clothed again Lauren settled her in the guest bed, pulling up the covers and setting a glass of water on the nightstand. "Comfy?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Goodnight, see you in the morning." Lauren began her hasty retreat once the girl was settled, but was stopped before she reached the door.

"Lauren?"

Sigh._ I need a drink._ "Yes?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go downstairs so you can rest now; you had a long day and need to sleep."

"Okay."

Lauren continued her exit, even more determined to make a clean get away. As she swung the door closed she was again interrupted.

"Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"I don't like it in here."

Lauren could not help but let her forehead fall against the doorframe with a thud as her last hopes of being done with the child for now were dashed.

"Okay, well, is there anything I can do to fix it?" She questioned hopefully.

"No. I don't wanna sleep here."

Sigh. "Okay, um, we can make you a bed on the couch downstairs. Does that sound better?"

When Tamsin agreed, they proceeded to strip the bed and Lauren carried the linen down to the couch, almost breaking her neck tripping over Tamsin several times as she walked erratically, starting and stopping and zigzagging between items that caught her attention on the way.

"Okay, is here good?" Lauren asked again, as she laid the last pillows in place on the bedded sofa. Tamsin merely nodded tiredly, and Lauren held open the covers so she could crawl in.

"Okay then, good. Goodnight." With this matter now officially settled, Lauren set off toward the stairs.

"Lauren?" _You have got to be kidding me._ "Where are you going?"

Lauren stopped mid-step and palmed her face, taking a deep breath before turning around. "I'm just going to go right upstairs to my room, okay?" She said, lowering her hand from her face to look at the girl on the couch.

"Lauren, I don't like it here," she whined.

Sigh. "You said it was good, now it's bad?"

Nod.

"What's wrong with it?" She sighed out again while rubbing at her temples. Her patience was wearing thin, she had also had a long day.

"I sleep with Momz."

_Ah, I see now what the problem is here. Okay Lewis, you can do this. You are a doctor, nurturing is your second nature._ "I know, honey, but you can't sleep with her tonight."

"Because she is at hospital?" Whispered a small, worried voice.

"That's right. So you need to stay with me tonight. But we will see her tomorrow."

"She is sick now too?"

"Yes, she is still sick." There was a long pause after that and Lauren wondered if maybe Tamsin had finally succumbed to her obvious fatigue, until her little voice piped up again.

"She is mad at me for making her be sick and now we can't sleep together?"

Lauren finally met the green eyes seeking hers. It was unsettling. They looked so much like Tamsin's, especially now when framed by her furrowed brows, but they were so unguarded, and all they held as they looked to her for comfort and reassurance was fear and trust and _innocence_.

"No honey, she's not mad at you. She just needs to rest at the hospital tonight," Lauren explained in the gentlest tone she could muster.

"But you said it was my fault, I hearded you!" Tamsin's voice cracked with despair. _Some things never change: still a little sneak._

"It's no one's fault, and no one is angry. You are just special strong and don't get sick, but Momz gets sick a little easier. So she caught some of your germs that are fine germs for you but bad germs for her, and that made her sick."

"'Cuz I sneezed in her mouth." Tamsin added with a giggle and perhaps a hint of pride, clearly amused by this.

"Yeah, 'cuz you sneezed in her mouth," Lauren agreed with a hint of a smile herself. "But she will be better in a bit, okay? Don't worry, these things happen to all the Momz' and none of them are angry about it and all of them are fine, okay?"

"Okay," she assented, settling back into the nest of pillows and blankets that swamped her little body.

_Excellent work Lewis,_ Lauren commended herself, now moving to quickly finish up with Tamsin so they could both finally get to bed.

"Okay, now it's bed time. Goodnight," she said authoritatively as she began walking up the stairs.

"Lauren, where are you going?" _Really, this again?_

"I'm going to my bed too, to sleep," she stated again without turning or stopping.

"Lauren, I don't like it here," Tamsin whimpered, obviously frightened. Lauren sighed deeply at this, finally realizing what the problem had been all along, and she was none too fond of the solution.

"Okay, um, well." Sigh. "Would you like to sleep in my bed?"

"With Lauren?" The girl confirmed.

"Yes," she relented, and was met with vigorous nodding, the most earnest expression on the child's face, so filled with vulnerability. How could she refuse when Tamsin was at her mercy and just so _small_?

Lauren's eyes rolled to the ceiling as she put on a fake smile and extended her hand toward the girl. _Great, just great._

In the end, they finally managed to get settled into Lauren's bed together without too much fuss, Lauren still sitting up on the left side of the bed, while Tamsin laid tucked in on the right.

"Okay?" Lauren asked once they were still, but Tamsin's eyes were already drooping shut, her fingers in mouth.

* * *

"Lauren?"

"Lauren?"

Sticky fingers smeared god-knows-what on her face as they poked her. _Oh great goddess, how does Kenzi do this all the time? I thought I wanted a kid, but this is too much! _

Lauren cracked one eye open just in time to bat away the little fingers preparing to pry apart her eyelids. When her eye adjusted to the low light she jerked her head back with a start at seeing a face hovering inches above hers. _Albert Einstein!_

"Uh, yes?" She cautiously enquired. _Maybe she is just thirsty._

"I wanna go home." A sniffle. "To where _I_ live in _my_ house." _So, a good night's sleep is out of the question, then? _

Sighing, "Um, honey, we can't go there right now. Nobody's home, remember? That's why you are staying here at my house."

"Bo's home." A statement.

"She might not be," Lauren countered.

"Yes she is. She's always in her bed now."

_Oh._

"Right, right... Um, but even if she's there, uh – " Sigh. "Um, we can't go be with Bo right now."

"I know – know that. Momz says Bo – says Bo, needs needed her alone times and not to be – be bother her." Tamsin stuttered out as Lauren tried to be patient and not cut in. "I promise, I won't – won't even g-go in her room or _anything_ if'd we go home," the child continued her plea when she sensed Lauren was about to interject. She looked so hopeful as she waited for Lauren's response that it broke her heart a little to have to refuse her.

"Momz is right, we don't want to bother Bo. That's why we will stay here, and tomorrow we will go check on Kenzi – uh, your Momz again. And if she feels bet-"

"I knew that," Tamsin interrupted.

"Sorry?"

"My Momz's name is Kenzi, like you are Lauren," she explained haughtily, previous conversation eclipsed by this sudden PSA.

"You are very right," Lauren seized upon this distraction.

"I know. I'm really smart."

_Ha. And humble as ever._ "Yes you are," Lauren smirked. "Now go back to sleep!" _Before this turns awkward again. _She watched her bed-buddy's eyes close again and revelled in the silence.

"Lauren?"

_No._

"Yes?"

"Can we do cuddles?"

_Shit, shit, shit._

"Um, sure." She awkwardly lifted her right arm and laid it over the top of Tamsin's head on the bed, curling it down around the other side so Tamsin was lying in the space between her stiff arm and body. She patted the shoulder near where her hand now rested once for good measure.

"No, you are doing it wrong!" Tamsin protested.

"Um, okay?"

"You have to…" She sat up and used her little arms to tug on Lauren's shoulder, rolling her onto her side. Lauren stiffened more than she was aware she could as Tamsin pressed her little body into the curve of hers.

_Just when I thought this situation could not get any worse, I now have Tamsin's – _Tamsin's –_ face pressed on my chest and knee in my crotch. In my bed. Seriously?_

Tamsin wiggled to get comfortable and then was still, and Lauren swore she was finally asleep, already biding the time until she could carefully extract herself.

"Lauren?"

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. _Never having kids._ "Yes?"

"Do you love my Momz?"

_Huh?_

"Um, yeah, uh, sure," she bumbled, caught off guard.

A pause.

"Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

_Really, kid?_

"Uh, you're one of the family."

Lauren waited apprehensively in the silence, feeling that Tamsin was still tense.

"Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love Bo?"

"Yes."

There was only silence after her answer for what felt like a long while. _Finally?_

"Lauren?"

_No._

"Yes?"

"Does Bo doesn't like me?"

Sigh.

"Bo loves you." _So much._

"Okay."

Tamsin was quiet after that until dawn, but Lauren didn't get much sleep.


	3. First Day of School

A/N: Thanks for all the support and kind words! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

To those wondering I imagined Tammy to be about a human 6-year old in this chapter.

* * *

Thud.

Thud.

"Earth-earthquake?!" Kenzi exclaimed, face down into her pillow, as the room shook around her, jolting her to a state of semi-consciousness.

Thud.

"Wake up, wake up, wakeup, wackuh-p, wakkh-uh, wakeh," Tamsin panted, pausing to suck in another breath, before continuing her chant, "wake up, wakeuuuuppp, waaaaakkkkkeeee uuuuuh pppp, wake up!"

A blonde shock of hair bounced around her face as she leapt gracelessly around the bed, occasionally accidentally trodding on Kenzi's limbs hidden below the blankets.

"No. What? Noooo. Five more minutes! I just need-oomph-"Kenzi's bargaining was truncated as Tamsin tripped and fell heavily onto her back.

"Mother of…!" The rest of her curse was muffled by the pillow she buried her head under. She clutched it firmly down around her ears to drown out the ruckus threatening her beauty sleep.

Jump, jump, jump.

"Wake up, wake up," Tamsin nagged as ceaselessly as she jumped.

"Tammy…" Kenzi growled under the covers.

"It's time for school, school, school, school!" She nearly sang to the rhythm of squeaking springs.

"Nooooo! I don't wanna go to school," Kenzi whined, gripping the edge of covers the girl was trying to strip off of her.

The jumping halted for one glorious moment as the child laughed, "You're not going to school, Mama! You're silly!"

"Oh, well, good!" Kenzi shot back, surprised that her plea had been heard, and still not quite awake enough to process the situation. The child's words finally fully registered as the incessant bouncing brought her a reluctant awareness.

"Hey! Wait just a hot sec, small fry! Who you calling silly? I'll have you know that I am the great and all-seeing Kenzlana!" She stuck one hand out of a gap in the covers, dramatically posed as if clutching a crystal ball.

"No, that's not your real name! You are just Kenzi," Tamsin chortled.

"Ah! Just Kenzi. Your words cause me great offense!" Finally sitting up, she let the covers slide off her face, revealing her own mess of hair and her shoulders hunched forward in a menacing stance.

Her attempt at intimidation was met with more giggles.

"You dare laugh, child!" She boomed, slowly lifting both hands and twitching her fingers as if they were charged with an unknown power.

More giggles reached her ears as fingers poked and pulled at the hair covering her face, seeking to uncover her eyes. She froze for a breathless moment and waited for a little green eye to peek through the hole in her hair-veil just an inch from her own icy blues.

Laughter bubbled again as the child was reassured that this was indeed just a game upon seeing her smiling face.

"I will just have to tickle you into submission!" She yelled, surging forward. She knocked the kid to the mattress with one calculated swipe of her leg under the covers when Tamsin jerked back in surprise. Kenzi leaned down over her from her sitting position to begin her offensive. Little legs kicked futilely out to the side, as stronger fingers invaded tiny armpits and teased a protruding belly.

"Admit it! Admit I am all-powerful," she bellowed as she kept the child pinned against her legs.

"Hahahaha, nooo, you're just a human!" Tamsin choked out between chuckles.

"Just a human!" Kenzi feigned insult as she leaned back, clutching one hand to chest and averting her gaze with a twist of her head. Tamsin sat up slightly at the tickle-reprieve.

"Did your mother raise you to have no manners?"

"You raised me, Mama!" Tamsin jovially retorted.

"Did I? That's right, I did! I took you in under my own roof and fed you and clothed you." She clutched the little girl by her elbows and dangled her over the bed in front of her, giving her a wiggle at each word for emphasis. "And yet here you are, waking me at the ridiculous hour of –" she paused her speech to check the clock, squinting against a beam of light filtering in through the loose crack shack planks, "Ten a.m.! The nerve!"

With that she threw Tamsin back onto the bed and tickled her ruthlessly.

"Hahaha, stop, stop!" Kenzi retreated her hands on hearing Tamsin's words and at seeing her face redden from not getting a breath in between laughs.

"Well then, if you, Almighty Valkyrie, are so faaaaabulous, I suppose you can make your own first day of school pancakes then!" She called after the child who was sliding off the edge of the bed, setting up an emergency escape in case of another tickle attack.

"No, Mama! I want pancakes!"

Kenzi pretended to consider this for a moment and eyed Tamsin suspiciously, tapping her own chin with a finger in contemplation. Tamsin stared back jollily from side of bed, where she was perched on her elbows in anticipation.

"Alright then, I suppose I will forgive you this time. But only 'cuz you are so darn cute!" She pinched chubby cheeks with both hands and leaned in making a kissy face at Tamsin, who squealed and ran away. Before she could make a clean getaway, Kenzi threw off the covers and leapt out of bed, grabbing her and scooping her up sideways. She skipped down the stairs while blowing on Tamsin's stomach through the gap between her pyjama top and bottoms, and Tamsin screeched with delight.

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready?" Kenzi questioned for the tenth time.

"Yes."

"Really? Not hungry?" Kenzi tried.

"No." Tamsin said firmly, looking her straight in the eyes with no hesitation or room for doubt.

"Tired? Maybe you should have a nap instead."

"No Mama, I'm not tired. Let's goooo," Tamsin groaned.

"Maybe you should change outfits? It looks like it could rain at any minute, maybe." Tamsin threw her a look of disbelief, eyes rolled upward and mouth agape. "I said maybe! If, you know, some clouds appeared to cover up all the blue bits…"

"Momz!" She flung both arms out from her body in front of her, fed up with this drawn out back-and-forth.

"Okay, okay! I guess we'll go then, if you're like really, super sure, and you have everything you need." She took one step in the direction of the door before halting progress again. "You know, maybe we should run by the mall just to check that –"

"Momz! We're gonna be late!" Tamsin whined again, hopping up and down to give her voice a broken vibrato as she drew out the vowels in the last word.

"Well, we can't really be late since we _technically_ don't necessarily have a fixed time that we said – "

"Mama!" Tamsin was done with glowering and had moved on from this conversation that was going nowhere, now already fiddling with the doorknob and springing around, trying to reach the high lock.

"Okay, okay, I'm doing it. Move it, blondie!" Kenzi pushed the kid aside with a bump of the hip so she could properly open the door, reaching up to unbolt the top-lock and releasing the floor-bolt with her boot.

Tamsin sprang out the door ahead of her before she could check outside and give her the all-clear, bounding down the steps as fast as her little legs would carry her and making a beeline for the yellow death trap they still called their car.

"Okay then, I guess we're going to school," Kenzi muttered under her breath as she pulled the door shut with unnecessary force.

* * *

"Are you sure about this? I mean we could just, like, head back to the shack and chillax, come back some other day in the distant future when –"

"Kenzi! I'm sure; she a young fae, she needs to be educated in our ways. We actually probably should have started sooner if anything…"

"But, you know, won't she be a bother to you, Trickster. I mean, she is quite the little whirlwind, you don't need that kind of trouble."

"Of course not, she's no bother," Trick reassured while rescuing item after item the young Valkyrie was pushing off the shelves as she clambered around the den, touching everything. "No bother at all…"

"Right." Kenzi sounded unconvinced. "Are you sure, 'cuz I mean –"

"Kenzi! It's fine. Leave her to me." Trick sighed; Kenzi had her arms crossed in a pose that did not suggest she was going to back down any time soon. "Go have some you time. Relax," he tried.

"Right, right, relax…." She muttered humorlessly to herself as Trick dove after another falling treasure. She could hear Trick unsuccessfully attempting to lure the girl into the sitting area as she rubbed at her temples.

"Tamsin, sit your butt on the couch, like now!"

"Do Valkyries have these?" Tamsin carelessly grabbed a random object off the shelf she was sitting on.

"Ah, no. That is a _very fragile_ 7th century –"

"Do Valkyries have these?" She rejected the first object, simply letting it drop from her hand as the next caught her attention. Trick barely caught the rarity before it shattered on the floor.

"No, that's an ancient Greek urn from –"

"Do Valkyries –"

"Why don't you sit on the couch and I will tell you what belonged to Valkyries," Trick managed to get out in a light tone, in spite of his clenched teeth.

"Okay." Tamsin scrambled down, knocking over the last few things in her grand finale, throwing herself off the shelf in the direction of the couch.

Kenzi raised her eyebrows in bemusement as Trick turned around with the fakest smile plastered on his face, eyebrows botoxed in place high on his forehead.

"Kenzi, everything is fine here. Please, go."

"Uh huh," came out too high pitched, as she let the smugness seep into her voice.

"I assure you, she is not the first child I've dealt with, nor will she be the last."

Her eyebrows rose further watching Trick wrench yet another undoubtedly priceless artefact out of Tamsin's hands.

"Uh huh." She was not even trying to hide the smugness now, sure she had this round won.

"You've met my daughter, Aife?" Trick countered with same smug expression.

_Balls._

"Okay, so maybe you have the teensiest bit of a point, but –"

"Kenzi, we will both be _fine_, I assure you." There was no room for negotiation in his tone this time and his eyes bored into Kenzi, unmoving.

"Okay, okay!" Kenzi surrendered; realizing she had met her match she raised both hands in a pacifying gesture. Trick gave a satisfied nod in her direction and let out a pleased breath as he turned to address the prime fidgeter. Kenzi slunk down onto the arm of the couch, re-crossing her arms.

"Why don't we get started Tamsin, I'm going to tell you about Valkyries!" He cooed in an upbeat voice. "I even have something here to show you, I'll just…" He trailed off mid-sentence as he turned to see Kenzi still sitting there.

"Kenzi. Why don't you give us some space, yes? I'm sure you would have more fun doing," he stopped to consider, "ah, whatever it is you do."

"Oh, no, I'm good here. This sounds like it'll be a _thrilling_ story, Trickster."

"Trickster," came a little echo from the couch, toying with the word.

Trick raised his eyebrows and crossed arms, his bearing unyielding.

"Alright, alright." She raised her hands in surrender yet again. "I'm going, I'm going. Jeez, waita make a girl feel welcome."

"Thank you," Trick responded dryly. "See you in two hours."

"Be good, Tamikins!" She shouted while backing toward the door. "I'll be back in just a lil' bit to get you, okay? Don't give T-dawg any trouble."

"Okay," Tamsin replied automatically, not even looking up.

"Okay." At the last second Kenzi stepped back into room and rushed the few steps to the couch. Her fingers tangled in blonde curls as she grabbed Tamsin's head between both hands and planted a loud kiss on top as Trick looked on, amused at her lack of progress toward the exit.

"Moooomz!" Tamsin grumbled, smoothing at the hair when Kenzi released her death-grip, giving her a glare and a pout over her shoulder.

"Okay, alright, I'm going now. Back soon! You know my number, right? If you need me you just call the number and I'll be right back in just…"

Trick stared, unwavering, as she retreated backwards up the stairs, still yelling little bits about phone numbers and pick-up times until she was out of earshot. Satisfied, he continued his previous thought.

"Well then, Tamsin, where were we? Ah yes, I had this to show you…"

* * *

Kenzi was sitting on the worn-out couch; zombie hookers were running on the screen in front of her but she had muted them, uninspired, instead hugging an oversized pillow to her chest. It was so quiet in the crack shack. She checked the clock again. 13:17. 57 minutes since she had left the Dal.

_I wonder how things are going. Maybe I should call to check in again…_

Another minute passed as she resisted urge to stretch for the phone she had tossed to the other end of the couch, out of reach. She stared ahead of her, but could still feel it there, taunting her. She let the urge peak and then slowly fade away, exhaling.

Just as she started to feel tingly, a warning that the urge was about to begin to build again, and prepared to resist the lure of her phone, her cycle was interrupted by the door opening. She sensed a new, animate, presence off to her side, but kept her gaze fixed forward.

"Oh, um, hey."

Kenzi spared a quick glance to the side, not meeting Bo's eye, but enough to catch a glimpse of her trademark leather pants.

"Hey."

Silence hung oppressively from the rafters as they stood in a deadlock, neither moving to acknowledge the other further, yet neither removing themselves from the awkwardness either.

"Uh, it's so quiet in here."

_No shit, Sherlock._

Kenzi did nothing to acknowledge Bo's statement, still only looking straight ahead; the only clue that she had heard the words was her shifting grip on the pillow.

"Is, uh, she, upstairs by herself or…?" Bo trailed off. To anyone else her tone would have sounded casual, if not bored, but the hint of worry lacing her voice forced a response from the only one who could hear it.

"Uh, no, no." Kenzi plucked at the seam of the pillow. "_Tamsin's_, uh, at the Dal. With Trick."

Bo grimaced and wanted to disengage, but momentary confusion prevailed and she blurted, "With Trick?" She mentally kicked herself.

"Uh yeah, you know, uh, like, school or whatever," Kenzi spared a brief glance at Bo's face to see the furrowed brows she could hear in her voice.

"Oh, uh, oh," Bo said simply.

Silence filled the room again.

"Okay, well, I'm just gonna..." She trailed off as she gestured vaguely to the stairs before slinking up them.

"Yeah," Kenzi whispered with enough of a delay that she was really only addressing herself.

As Bo's steps trailed off into her bedroom, the weighty silence crept back in.

A minute ticked by, maybe more, as Kenzi was lost in her own thoughts. A shiver ran through her and she shook her head sharply, breaking the trance. She looked to the clock. 13:26. One hour and six minutes since she had left her there.

_Maybe I should call just to check in…._

She eyed her phone as the standoff began once more.

* * *

"Hi Mama!" The chipper greeting gave her a jolt, and she stumbled ungracefully into the den from where she had been trying to lurk in the stairwell.

_Damn her Valkyrie Spidey senses!_

"Hi Tammy! Uh, Trick." Kenzi gave a little wave with one hand as she was brought out of hiding.

"Kenzi, you're here…" Trick stated, inspecting his clock, which read two minutes to two. "I thought we said two hours."

"I know, but I thought, you know, I'd check in, make sure that…" She stepped across her own legs as she weaved her way towards Tamsin.

"Everything's going alright." Trick finished for her. "Yes, I see…" The frustration and disapproval was evident in his voice, though his eyes were kind. Kenzi shot finger guns his direction, timed to a wink and a click, in confirmation.

"Hi baby, how's it going?" Kenzi crooned, as she bent over the back of couch, kissing the top of Tamsin's head and then her cheek as she pulled her back into her arms.

"Good! Trickster's telling me 'bout Valkyries like me!" She crowed. "And look, I drawed this picture!"

"Oh wow, that's so good Tammy-Tam! We'll have to hang it up at home," Kenzi gushed, admiring the crude stick figures on the parchment the girl was proudly displaying to her.

"Well, uh, since you're here now, I suppose we'll end for the day," Trick announced to his audience of none, rubbing his forehead. "We'll just pick up where we left off next time, okay Tamsin?"

"Okay!" Tamsin shrieked, but she was already too deeply involved with pointing out things on her drawing to her doting mama to really be listening. She stood on the couch cushions, stepping rapidly from one foot to the other, while peering over the back at Kenzi, who was squatting on the other side of the couch with her chin resting on the backrest, fawning over Tamsin's artwork and listening to her descriptions with rapt attention.

Trick wanted to be annoyed at having his lesson disturbed, but the look on Kenzi's face as she beamed up at the young Valkyrie from her spot behind the couch, attending to the child's ramblings as if they were the lost wisdom of ancient prophets, kept him from mustering any irritation and he could only smile softly.

"Wow! Sounds like you learned a lot today, chubby nugget! Why don't you tell me all about it over some ice cream?"

"Ice cream!" The girl cheered, the excitement overwhelming, as she jumped up and down on the couch until Kenzi scooped her up by the armpits and swung her down to the ground next to her. She grabbed Tamsin's right hand in one hand and took the drawing in the other.

"Uh, Trickster?"

"Trickster!" The girl mimicked.

"Right, two ice cream sundaes coming right up."

He watched the pair as they walked up the stairs, Tamsin jumping up each step and Kenzi lifting her by the hand she was holding to assist each time, the prized drawing dragging behind them.


	4. Bathtime Escape

**A/N:** Thanks for all of your feedback! Here's a little chapter with 2-3 year old Tammy making some mischief...

* * *

A pitter-pattering off the side of her bed roused Bo from a light slumber. She reluctantly cracked one eye to identify the source and recoiled, squinting, despite the low lighting in the room. Lazily she dragged her eye across the room to scan for potential threats, until it settled on two figures wobbling near the edge of her bed. Her second eye flew open spontaneously at the sight.

She squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again slowly to verify they were not betraying her.

_Twin dancing elves?_

Actually, now that she took a better look, the whole room was dancing, not just the trippy intruders. Or maybe it was her that was swaying. Come to think of it, nothing was probably swaying. She closed her eyes again to make the spinning stop.

She tried to focus her eyes on the two almost certainly stationary figures by her bed. The more she stared in the dim light, the more they merged.

_Two-headed naked midget?_

She blinked at that and opened her eyes wider than was natural, lifting her head slightly to get a better look.

_Oh, one-headed naked midget._

As her vision finally caught up with the happenings in her room, she realized who her current company was. A little, quite very naked girl stood next to her bed staring at her, the finger of one hand in her mouth. The corners of her mouth turned up around the finger when she saw Bo look at her. Bo scowled.

The child seemed unfazed, continuing to smile at her. She pulled the finger out of her mouth to grin widely and let out a short giggle, mischief dancing in her eyes as the finger moved to play in her belly button instead. She rocked slightly on her feet, leaning conspiratorially in toward Bo as if to let her in on some big joke.

Bo lay completely still, unblinking and with expression blank, for a pregnant moment, never shifting her gaze from the child. Her concentrated stare was broken by cursing from another room, her eyes reflexively darting toward the sound.

"Tamsin, I swear to god!"

Bo's attention was drawn back to the girl as she let out another sound of delight in response to Kenzi's frustrated call; she had also swiveled to face the sound, but now turned back to look at Bo again. Where she moved her feet Bo noticed little wet footprints appearing on the floorboards, and now that she was paying attention she could see droplets forming at the tips of water-darkened blonde locks.

"Tammy, you get your butt back in here! I turn away for one second and…" The ranting became unintelligible as Kenzi moved into another room out of earshot.

The child laughed openly this time, her entire countenance one of great mirth. She clapped her hands together and beamed proudly, clearly expecting to be met with Bo's laughter and admiration for her stunt. Bo's frown deepened.

"Where the heck did you go you little rugrat?" Kenzi's grumbling could occasionally be heard through decrepit walls as she moved around the shack, some locations better insulated than others.

Soon Bo could make out the silhouette of the woman in question as she appeared in the doorway, having spotted the fugitive when she trotted past.

"Ugh, there you are! What do you think you're doing, missy!" Kenzi halted mid-step as she became aware of her surroundings. She took in Bo's position on her side on the bed, one arm supporting her head, and her scrunched brows and tightly pursed lips as she frowned down at Tamsin.

Kenzi closed the distance between herself and Tamsin, wrapping her in the yellow towel she had retrieved and pulling its patterned hood over her wet curls. She cradled her against her body as she stood up, patting the towel against damp skin and hair. Bo could see Kenzi's skin through her shirt where it clung to her body in its soaked state.

Kenzi turned on her heel and made her exit without acknowledging the room's other inhabitant.

Bo watched her leave and scrunched her nose in distaste at the little duck head she saw peek over Kenzi's shoulder to continue observing her until she was out of view. Something about the sight made her stomach roil, so she rolled to face the other way in her bed. She came face to face with a glass bottle and without reservation chugged the rest of its contents, eager to erase the image of Tamsin's eyes peering at her from Kenzi's embrace before they were permanently emblazoned in her mind.


	5. Uninvited Guests

**A/N:** I hope you like the new chapter as much as those before! I imagined Tammy as about 2-3 years old.

* * *

"And one foot, two feet. One foot, two feet," Kenzi babied Tamsin as they walked down the stairs together in the rickety shack. Kenzi really had done her best to child-proof the place, but it was a lost cause, and this stairwell was her nemesis.

The shack had too many problems to ever properly address them all. She had started in her room, trying to cover up the holes in the walls and cushion all the pointy bits. As soon as she got her eye in though, she realized that everything in the room was a potential source of injury, and she wore herself down rushing around, dealing with each issue as best she could, only to spot two more hazards for each one she did away with.

And it wasn't just the broken floorboards and splintering walls, exposed electrical wiring and dubious roofing; there was still the question of all the inappropriate possessions littering each room and nook, mostly weapons and other pointy devices, but also _stuff_ of a different nature. She wanted to blame Bo for this, but she secretly knew she had a larger role in creating this mess than she would ever admit to.

Overwhelmed by this impossible task, she had become fixated on one part of the house, determined to child-proof it, and convinced that if this one thing were better, the whole shack would be up to standard. Tamsin would be protected from that damn staircase if it was the last thing Kenzi ever did.

So she had laid tape on all the nails and splinters coming off the floor, and styrofoam along the wooden rail with the sharp edges right at _someone's_ head height; she had even tried her best to fill in the holes where little legs could slip through the planks and be trapped. In the end though, she just had to accept the inevitable truth: this thing was a death trap. Instead, she had taken to policing stairway activities, insisting on carrying Tamsin up and down between floors and shooing her away or blocking the entrances when she had her hands full or back turned.

But Tamsin was as hot-headed as ever, and though she was quite the little diva, insisting on being carried around at the store or whenever else was least convenient to Kenzi, it was only ever on her terms. The second Kenzi demanded to lift her, she adamantly refused and the two were left in a standoff, neither willing to concede. Kenzi was ready to tear her hair out seeing that stubborn pout or stomping foot, all the more aggravating knowing the girl was mimicking her own posture, her hands on her hips.

The constant fighting wouldn't do, and Kenzi had eventually agreed to let her walk down the stairs on her own, but, of course, hovered a few steps below, backing down the steps with her hands an inch from Tamsin, ready to catch her at the first sign of 'distress'. Every step the girl took Kenzi swore she was about to tumble head-first down the stairs and frantically would close the distance to steady her, and each time her hands were swatted away with a screech and a glare until she backed off.

Kenzi had finally hopped down onto the floor of the living room, with Tamsin trailing a few steps above, just feet away from the end of this harrowing experience.

"Come on Tammerz, last few steps," she prodded.

"No."

"What? Come on." Kenzi whined back impatiently.

"Jump." The girl stated, turning up her nose at Kenzi's attempt to grab her hand and guide her the rest of the way down.

"Jump?" Kenzi was not following.

"Jump." Tamsin confirmed. The girl bent her knees deeply, indicating her intent to leap down to the landing below, waving her hand for Kenzi to make way.

"Uh, no. I don't think so," Kenzi answered with an air of near-mocking disbelief.

"Jump!" The girl demanded in an almost-shout.

"Fine, you can jump. But I'm gonna catch you then," Kenzi bargained.

"Nooooo," the girl yelled, stomping in protest.

"Final deal kid. Take it or leave it." Kenzi hard-balled, already slowly reaching forward, threatening to end the stair-activities in spite of the tantrum counter-threat.

Tamsin batted her hands away again and pouted at her, but on her face was a look of anger associated with defeat, not stubbornness, so Kenzi backed up slightly, preparing to intercept the girl.

"Okay, jump," she allowed.

Tamsin stepped back and forth, shifting her weight from foot to foot in preparation, not quite ready to take the big leap.

"What, now you're chicken? I ain't got all day, you gonna jump or not?" She goaded.

"Naaah!" Came the shrill sound of protest at being called a chicken. _She always was sensitive about the bird jokes,_ Kenzi smirked to herself.

"Then jump! 3, 2, 1, go."

Just a second off the beat Tamsin dove forward, though with her little legs it was really more of a hop. Luckily Kenzi was the overprotective type, and was waiting with her hands just a half foot away. She caught Tamsin under the arms and thrust her up over her head, spinning them both around and around.

"And there goes the little Valkyrie, soaring high over the battlefields," she swung the child toward the ground, "and swooping low to collect the souls of warriors to take to Valhalla. And flying up, up, up through the clou–" Kenzi stopped midsentence as she twirled them around and came face to face with two uninvited guests observing her from the living room.

"Well lookie here, Tam-Tam. We gots ourselves some company. We best up our security, don't cha think?" She baby-talked to the girl, poking her tummy where she sat propped on her hip. Tamsin gurgled in response.

"Kenzi…" Lauren sighed.

"Save it." She held up a hand to stop further conversation. Lauren watched in silence as Kenzi moved into the kitchen with Tamsin, waiting for an opportunity to meet her eye when she turned.

Lauren opened her mouth to try to get the ball rolling with Kenzi again, but was distracted by what she witnessed in the kitchen, and instead scoffed, "Did you duct tape a box to a barstool?"

"Doth mine furniture offend thine fine senses, mi'lady? Ooh, I'm so sorry!" The caricature came unbidden as she forced the reluctant child, who was spreading her legs in a purposefully unhelpful manner, into the cardboard box. Lauren looked unamused at being mocked, but Kenzi couldn't care less. Still, she took offense at the doctor's belittling tone, so defended, "Money's tight, alright? I can't afford to get busted right now liberating some schmancy chair. So I just punched out some leg holes and taped the box on through these slits I made. I get it, it's not good enough for you unless it's the new organic varnished cherry oak blah blah Babydex 2000, Doctor Snob, but we street scum deal."

"That's – that's actually a good idea," slipped out of Lauren in her surprise at seeing Tamsin sitting securely in her seat, legs kicking playfully through the cut-out holes.

"Wow. Nice. Don't sound so surprised, doc." Not that she expected anything less of the doctor.

"I mean, I didn't mean it like that." Lauren mentally slapped herself, rolling her eyes to the ceiling and sucking in a controlled breath.

"Of course you didn't," Kenzi scoffed seeing Lauren's expression, the look of barely contained irritation she knew so well and had never appreciated. But she didn't have to sit back and take it anymore when Lauren tried to make her feel less-than. "Now, why are you in my house?"

She grabbed a plastic shopping bag and hooked one handle around Tamsin's neck, ignoring the disapproving face Lauren involuntarily made at seeing the bag near the child's mouth and throat. _As if I'm about to let her choke when I'm one foot away watching her,_ Kenzi grumbled. Tearing the other handle in half, she used the two ends to tie that side of the bag to the box-seat around the leg-hole separator. She poured some cheerios into the bag-turned-bib, and Tamsin started to pick at them.

"Or did you just come by to insult me?"

"No, Kenzi, of course not. We just wanted to see how you were doing and –"

"Oh, so _now_ you wanna be involved? Now it's convenient for you. Well maybe you're not welcome here."

"Kenzi –" Lauren sighed, rubbing one hand over her face.

"Is Bo here?" Dyson interjected suddenly, having previously been sat silently on the couch, not even turning to acknowledge the room's other occupants or their conversation.

"Hi D-man, I've been great, thanks for asking! I'm touched by how much you care." The sarcasm was palpable, the faux-enthusiasm a piercing ring in Lauren's ears. "No. Not that she would want to see _you_ anyway."

"Kenzi we are just trying to –"

"Oh, I know exactly what you are trying to do. Feelin' guilty, coming around. You think I'm stupid? What do you expect me to say? Oh, thank you for gracing me with your presence, Lady Lewis," she slipped back into her previous British character, complete with elaborate swooping curtsy-bow. "How 'bout, um," she tapped her chin with a finger, "No."

"And back to the accents…" Lauren trailed off.

"What, you don't want cheerios?" Tamsin was fussing with the bag, trying to pull it off her neck and flinging out a few cheerios in the process.

"Chill, chill. Fine, you can be done, but you're not having any more food 'til dinner then. No more snacks!" Kenzi laid down the law, lifting the bag away. Tamsin was already standing up as she set it on the counter.

"Hey, Lil' T, what'd I say? Sit in the box, Momz lifts you down. Remember when you fell last week, huh?" She freed her from the chair and set her on the floor, returning to the kitchen to pour the rejected cereal back into the box.

Tamsin ran into living room and Lauren flopped back into couch next to Dyson with another sigh when Kenzi ignored her attempts to get her attention again, pretending to be very involved with tidying the kitchen and humming loudly whenever she spoke.

Tamsin stood rocking on a creaky floorboard in her bare feet, halfway between the TV and the coffee table, observing the pair on the couch. Lauren cracked a smile at the girl and she lifted her dress to hide her face, dropping it below her eyes to peek at Lauren, and then lifting it up again when they made eye contact, in a peekaboo game of sorts. Her little round belly poked out over her yellow underwear where her dress was lifted. _It's Tuesday,_ Lauren judged, looking at the Wednesday underwear, but, in what was probably her first wise move of the visit, decided not to voice this to Kenzi.

"Move, it's time for Tammy's show." Any thought of commenting was lost as Kenzi shooed her and Dyson from the couch, not even waiting for her to be clear of the seat before shoving her arm under the cushion, searching for the remote.

Kenzi switched the TV on to Jungle Jeeves and beckoned Tamsin over with an arm wave. Tamsin slowly wandered over, dragging her feet along an indirect route; no one ordered her around, it was just a huge coincidence that she happened to be moving in the direction Kenzi suggested.

"Let's go!" Kenzi pushed.

Tamsin had been about to climb up on the couch when she let out a yelp and started to wail.

"What? What happened baby?" Kenzi was instantly on the floor attending to her, eyes filled with worry. Tamsin sniffled pathetically, pointing to the foot she lifted gingerly.

"Oh no, did you step on something sharp? Let me look." Kenzi set the girl on the couch and carefully examined the sole of her tiny foot. "I don't see anything, does it still hurt? Look, Mama's gonna kiss it and make it all better, see? I'm so sorry baby, I forgot to put your shoes on! Mama's so stupid!"

"Is there anything that would make it feel better, T?" She added when the crying didn't let up.

"Chips." Tamsin requested immediately through a pause in her sobs.

"Okay, you can have chips! I'll go get you some." Kenzi bounced up with a final kiss to the foot, and one to the top of Tamsin's head for good measure, and hurried into the kitchen to get the snack.

Tamsin chewed on the hem of her dress as she watched the TV, her tears ending abruptly as Kenzi moved away. Lauren narrowed her eyes at the young con.

"You know she is playing you," Lauren remarked when Kenzi returned with the bowl, arms crossed over her chest, eyeing the clever child.

"Lauren! Really, you've always had something against Tamsin, but I can't believe you would take it out on a child! She is just a baby, aren't you Tam-Tam?" Kenzi gushed, stroking puffed out cheeks.

Tamsin nodded solemnly. "See, look at that widdle face. Mama's little angel."

Lauren rolled her eyes, but refrained from starting another argument, especially one she clearly had no chance at winning; how could _she_ compete with _that_?

"Now, is there something you wanted? If not, how 'bout you just leave us alone." The words came out coldly; Kenzi was done being talked down to in her own home.

Lauren sighed for the final time; this was not going as she envisaged. She looked to Dyson, who kept a surly stance by the couch. Her intention had been for him to act as a mediator between her and Kenzi, given they had a better rapport, but she could see now he would not be of any help in salvaging this visit. She decided to cut her losses and come back a different day to have another go at mending things.

"Fine, fine. We'll stop by some other time," she relented at last.

"Or don't."

Lauren dropped her arms to her sides in equal parts irritation and defeat, and gestured with her head to Dyson that they should leave. Dyson took one last look toward the stairs and inhaled deeply through his nose, before following Lauren out of the shack.

"We really should put a sturdier lock on that door," Kenzi said primarily to herself as she watched the door swing shut and settled into the couch next to Tamsin for some jungle fun.


	6. Firecake

A/N: Little longer to update this time, but I had to do the more boring kind of writing I actually get paid for :P In this chapter Tamsin is maybe four.

* * *

"Wow, back up, back up! I'm just gonna, urgh, just one sec, this, oh my god, so much fire! Stand back, I just need to…"

Kenzi ushered Tamsin away from the sudden inferno raging in the kitchen. She threw some water in the general direction of the flame before settling on smacking it with all the kitchen towels she could grab. Eventually the fire seemed to take the hint and settle down to a gentle smoldering that Kenzi snuffed with a metal pot lid.

"Oh, wow, that was something, huh?" Kenzi commented, staring down at Tamsin. Tamsin looked skeptically back up at Kenzi.

Kenzi shrugged, "I totally meant to do that. It's how you always do this part."

"Okay." Tamsin agreed, still looking unconvinced about this event, and at the kitchen shenanigans in general that Kenzi was putting them through in the name of a healthier diet.

"Let's just see how they look…" She lifted the lid to see the charred remains of her would-be pancakes. "Hm, maybe with some syrup? Like, so much syrup."

She scooped one up and barely managed to get it on to the plate as it instantly crumbled at the touch, revealing an equally burned center. "Or maybe not," she sighed at this latest failed attempt.

She pulled off the apron hanging around her neck and tossed it off into some corner behind her with another deep sigh. She put her hands on her hips as she swept her eyes over the kitchen.

Tamsin had climbed onto the stool to get a better look and now peered down at the sad pancake.

"Mama, if you want, I try to eat this one?" Tamsin said in an attempt to hearten, seeing Kenzi's low spirits.

Kenzi peeked at the girl and saw her give her a timid encouraging look. Her expression snapped Kenzi out of her rut, as she realized the girl was affected by her sour mood and frustrated body language. She shook the stiffness out of her limbs. Tamsin smiled wider at seeing Kenzi smile again.

"No baby, don't eat that stupid firecake. Ugh, you are so sweet, I could just eat you instead my widdle Tam-Tam." Kenzi grabbed Tamsin's face and smushed her chubby cheeks, leaning in while making gobbling sounds like she intended to take a bite from the child.

Tamsin giggled in delight, curling her chin into her chest to avoid getting gobbled up. "No Mama, you can't eat me!"

"Well, Tiny Tam, if I can't eat you then what else is there? I guess we better go to the store and buy some more ingredients and try again, huh?"

"Yeah, store!" Tamsin approved enthusiastically, already thinking of all the snacks she was going to convince Kenzi to buy for her with some masterfully employed puppy-dog eyes.

"Well okay then, we better get you dressed then, come on!" She lifted Tamsin to the floor and took her hand, guiding her up the stairs and to their room to get ready.

* * *

"Why are there so many fu– darn types? An apple's a fuc– darn apple, why they gotta make it so fancy?" Kenzi grumbled, leaning in to make out the fine print on the first of a dozen apple signs.

"Can get this one?" She heard Tamsin coming up behind her – _I really should have gotten a cart to trap her in_ – carrying something with a rustle to it.

"No," she said sternly, without looking back to see what the girl had picked up this time.

"But –"

"No. Now put it back. We are only getting the things on my list, no more snacks!" She didn't need to shift her gaze to know the girl was putting on a pout, she could practically feel the glare.

"Now!" She said with finality, adding an order, "and then come right back and hold my hand."

She could hear Tamsin stomp and the bag hit the floor with more rustling, but pretended not to notice. After a few tense moments she heard Tamsin pick up the bag with a huff and clomp off to put it back.

She smirked to herself as she kept perusing. _Little victories._

Tamsin skipped back to the shelf where she had pulled out the chips and shoved them back roughly, all the while careful not to step on any of the lines between the floor tiles. She turned to continue her improvised hopscotch, when a reflection in the glass doors on the dairy cases caught her eye: The Cereal Aisle.

She abandoned her previous course, instead hopping out a new path toward the pretty distraction.

When she had made it to the reflected image, she pressed her hands and nose to the glass; seeing only bags of milk she looked around for the source of her intrigue. There behind her she was met with the original in its full glory – every kind of sugary breakfast food she could have ever imagined stretched out before her for a seeming eternity.

One foot in front of the other, heel to toe, she moved down the aisle slowly, entranced by the colorful boxes. She dragged an outstretched hand softly over each box, tracing out the pictures of ships and rabbits. She had just pulled her hand across a particularly bright box when she braked abruptly and backtracked. A little man in a green hat smiled up at her as he juggled a rainbow and a moon and other vibrant shapes. His eyes spoke to her, telling a compelling tale as she ran her fingertips along the paths made by the floating mallows.

This was the one. Never had she seen anything that she needed as much as this green man box. She wrapped her arms around the box that was almost as big as her and hugged it close to her body.

"Mama!" She shouted as she faced the aisle, but there was no one. She took two steps to the left, again calling for her Momz, but there was still no response, only a vast expanse of sterile white tile.

She turned the other way, stumbling a few steps forward and shouting again, but nowhere could she see her Momz coming to get her. Panic filled her as she swiveled around and around, still clutching the box securely, her knuckles turning white. She cried out in despair, not sure what to do – she was all alone. The figures on the boxes leered down at her, the shelves towering up endlessly high and long.

She started to run down the aisle, but for all her efforts, her little legs failed to bring her Momz into view. She saw a gap in the boxes to her left and abandoned her prized box, ducking into the hole to shelter from the threatening shapes.

"Aha! You are the one!" Kenzi proclaimed a bit too loudly, triumphantly raising the apple of her choosing above her head in front of her. She rolled a few more off the display and into her basket as the surrounding shoppers returned to their own grocery needs. "Okay Tammerz, we are just about done here, all we need now is…" She trailed off, suddenly noticing the lack of one surly sulker by her side.

"Tam?" No response. "Tammy? Tamsin?" She looked around her for blonde curls, but there was no one.

"Tamsin come here right now! This isn't funny!" She commanded as she rounded the apple display to check the child wasn't merely out of her line of sight, perhaps sullenly lurking to show her displeasure at losing their snack-battle. But the more she hunted, the more she realized the girl wasn't merely being stubborn, she was actually gone.

"Tamsin. Oh my god. Tamsin. Tamsin!" She yelled with ever-increasing volume as she rushed around the vegetable section, searching for the girl. Her frantic voice attracted the attention of the other shoppers, who turned to gawk. A shop attendant approached her.

"Miss, miss! What seems to be the problem?" He asked Kenzi once he held a modicum of her attention.

"My – my daughter, she's missing! Tamsin, she's gone!" Kenzi shouted hysterically, one hand tangling in her hair.

"Miss, if you would just calm down, we'll –"

"Don't tell me to calm down! My baby is _missing_! What if she's hurt? What if she's been kidnapped?" Apples rolled across the floor as she let her basket fall and tip over.

"Miss, I'm sure she has just wandered off," he tried to placate her. "We'll just play a message on the com and I'm sure someone will spot her…"

But Kenzi was not listening, already beyond hysterical as she leaned forward with her hands on her knees, hyperventilating with loud gasps. All she could hear was the blood gushing in her ears, fear seizing her whole being.

"I'm gonna throw up," Kenzi groaned, and would have fallen forward if the man hadn't put a steadying hand on her shoulder, holding her in place.

"Please don't. I'm sure any second now someone will – See, look here."

Kenzi threw herself into an upright position and almost collapsed, staggering as black spots filled her vision.

"Did you say someone's missing a child?" A woman approaching the pair asked. "Because there is a little girl sitting in the cereal boxes…"

Before the woman could finish Kenzi had shoved past her, rushing off toward the cereal, with a little help from the man, who tugged her arm to set her off in the right direction. She sprinted down the aisle calling for Tamsin, stopping at the out of place box on the floor. She got on her hands and knees, searching among the boxes.

"Tamsin!"

"Mama!" Tamsin cried out in return, crashing out through the boxes into Kenzi's open arms. Kenzi kissed her tear-stained cheeks, then cradled her protectively against her body, letting out a sob of relief.

She could feel the bones in the little body creaking and growing and held her tighter, shielding her from the prying eyes of onlookers.

"It's okay baby, I got you, it's okay. Mama's here now," she soothed, rubbing the girl's back and rocking them slightly back and forth. Tamsin's body soon relaxed under her touch, her crying letting up.

Kenzi struggled to get to her feet while not releasing her death grip on the child. All thoughts of shopping were gone as she simply pressed through the small crowd and shakily marched out the door with Tamsin cuddled in her arms.

* * *

"Mama, aren't we gonna make pancakes?" Tamsin asked softly from where she lay limply, tucked into their bed. Her pyjamas were now a bit short in the arms, Kenzi could see, where the limbs were splayed over the covers, surrounded on all sides by pillows.

"Well, we can't make pancakes, 'cause we didn't actually buy any ingredients at the store. But we can try again on a different day, and maybe make some pancakes you can actually eat, okay Tammy?"

"Okay. I'm real sleepy anyways," Tamsin yawned.

"Yeah, I bet you are baby. Open." Kenzi lifted another spoonful of applesauce to the girl's lips from her spot kneeling by the side of the bed, her elbows resting on the mattress.

Tamsin lifted her head just far enough out of her pillow-nest to swallow the mouthful before falling weakly back into the bed.

"Mama, my everywhere hurts," she whimpered, trying to adjust her limbs on the cushions. Kenzi turned up the heat on the electric blanket, tucking it more snugly around her knees and under her spine.

"I know baby, my poor Lil T. Growing hurts sometimes, but it will be better soon. You just need to have some applesauce and a long nap, and when you wake up tomorrow it will be all better," she cooed, stroking the hair off the miserable child's forehead.

Tamsin sucked in a heavy breath and let out a broken sigh, her lips trembling when she turned her eyes to Kenzi. As a few tears gathered in the corners, she was a truly pathetic sight to see, and Kenzi's heart ached knowing there was nothing she could do to erase that look from eyes normally filled with mischief or awe.

She leaned in to kiss Tamsin's forehead. "Last bite," she smiled, holding up the spoon and discarding the empty plastic cup.

As Tamsin swallowed and lay back, Kenzi pulled up the blankets for final adjustments before carefully crawling into bed next to her, curling her body protectively around the tiny person under the covers. She let one hand gently come to rest on Tamsin's tummy, petting softly in a gesture of comfort, not that Tamsin could feel it through the layers of comforters she was engulfed in.

"Now you just go to sleep, and I'll be right here."

"No leaving." Tamsin mustered, her eyelids already drooping shut.

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere." But the girl probably never heard her words, already fallen into deep sleep.


End file.
